If I could give this new production of Falstaff 50 stars, I would. Verdi’s last opera is as close to perfection as music gets, and Robert Carsen’s 1950s update does it justice. Carsen clearly loves Falstaff and wants only to share that love with the audience.

Ambrogio Maestri’s world-class Falstaff apart, the cast is not top notch. But it does not matter because as an ensemble they are glorious. And in the pit, Daniel Gatti lets the music breathe. A must-see. (020 7304 4000)